Lawyer: Man charged in 5 bicyclist deaths didn’t intend harm

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Charles Pickett Jr.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — A defense lawyer says a man accused of killing five people by plowing his speeding pickup truck into a group of Michigan bicyclists hadn’t intended to harm them.

The comment from lawyer Alan Koenig followed the release this week of police reports saying 50-year-old Charles Pickett Jr. had taken pain pills and muscle relaxers less than two hours before the June 7 crash in Kalamazoo County.

Koenig offered thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families in an email to The Associated Press on Friday.

Pickett is charged with second-degree murder and driving while intoxicated causing death. He returns to court next month.

Another four bicyclists were injured when they were struck from behind on a two-lane road in Cooper Township.